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Resident urges Roeland Park to reconsider curbside glass recycling after program misses targets
Summary
At the March 16 Roeland Park City Council meeting, resident Jana Wilhouse urged councilors to reconsider the city’s curbside glass recycling contract, citing sharply lower participation and collection totals and arguing drop-off options may be cheaper and produce fewer emissions.
Jana Wilhouse, a Roeland Park resident, told the council that the city’s curbside glass recycling program has failed to meet expectations after 3.5 years and urged officials to reconsider the service when the contract comes up in April. "After 3.5 years, I think we are at that point for curbside glass recycling," Wilhouse said.
Wilhouse recounted the program’s original goals and later reductions: an initial aim of 800,000 pounds (about 400 tons) per year was reduced before launch to approximately 538,000 pounds (269 tons) with a 60% participation target. She said 2025 collections were only 63.21 tons — roughly 23% of the stated target — and that only 32% of households participated at least four times. "Curbside pickup is not environmentally friendly when considering that residents can drop off their glass during routine trips to the store," Wilhouse said, adding staff data show the Aldi drop-off site is seeing rising volumes.
Wilhouse also pressed city leaders on cost-effectiveness, saying the program’s net savings to the solid-waste budget were small. She argued that the service may reduce per-household fees by only about $32 per year and that relying on an existing drop-off option might better match resident behavior. "Everything has a cost," she said, urging that the council “cut our losses and go back to the drawing board” if performance does not improve. Wilhouse offered to help the city explore alternatives during the April contract discussion.
